The Deep End
by The Great Thief
Summary: From the ashes of Moriarty's crime ring rose a new empire, even more threatening than the last. But when James make a reappearance will it be easy to get his kingdom back?
1. Chapter 1

_Here's the thing. When in the business industry as a woman, you'll run into all types of people. The most common one is the lower-intellectual man. This archetype tends to put women into four different categories. Mothers, Sluts, Virgins, and Bitches. This will not work for the modern businesswoman, but you can choose certain aspects of each archetype to fit your liking. Such as the integrity of the virgin, the sexual attraction of the slut, the wisdom of the mother, and the independence of the bitch. Men will be confused, unable to pigeonhole you. Instead... they will be forced to take you seriously._

The rule that every woman should know, regardless of what working profession you decide to go into. This rule has helped Athena make her way through the ranks. Extra wit helping her climb the criminal field.

But as the others said, the one thing that separated her apart from the rest was not having the... pleasure of meeting Sherlock Holmes or James Moriarty. Personally, Athena liked keeping away from someone who would threaten her intelligence. All the same, that did make it boring. Not being able to have someone to connect the dots with.

"Do you need anything, Ms. Rae?" Larsson, the butler asked. Athena flicked her lighter; a cigarette stuck between her red lips, the flame quickly caught the end and she flicked it close.

"No, thank you for asking. But I am about to have an appointment with a very naughty employee of mine. Hopefully it will sate my boredom right now." The blonde was destructive when she got bored.

"Try not to get blood on the carpet, ma'am."

Athena took a long drag, "You're no fun, Larsson." Her pout made the old man smile, closing the door behind her.

"Hello Mrs Marina, how are you today?" The question was so harmless out of context, but in the setting the other woman was currently in... it might as well have been the most terrifying question you could ask. "Wonderful!" Athena clapped her hands together, a dark glint in her eye. "From my records, I found that you have a problem with one of your canines." Mrs. Marina, currently struggled against the restraints, muffled cries coming through the choker as Athena lifted up her lip. "Oh, yep. It looks like you broke it on your little trip to MI-5." The criminal grimaced, shrugging her shoulders at the same time.

Five red fingernails trailed up the other woman's shoulder, digging it into her cheek. "Now would be a really good time to wish you had a doctor." After detaching from Marina's cheek, Athena turned. Behind her lay a silver platter of exquisite torture devices. "Let's get started, shall we?"

She picked up a Whitehead gag, using her other hand to free Marina of the choker. "What the h-" The gag went in, and she got to work.

* * *

Four hours and several teeth later. "Since you were a thief, I think I'll break your arms and be on with it. What do you think?" No response.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Ms. Rae,_

 _I have received intel that you have singlehandedly built my a good portion of my empire up to the sky again. For that I am extremely grateful, but that must come to an end. It's time for the spider to get back in play.-JM_

The letter was pinned on Bohemian parchment to one of the butler's backs. Blood was pooling from his mouth. Poison. There was obvious blistering around the lips and bruises around his neck. "Mr Larsson please get someone to dispose of this body please, she's messing up the driveway."

"Yes, Mrs. Rae." Athena heard the crunch of Italian leather shoes across gravel. Her hand latched onto the cloth around the note, tearing it in one swift motion. There was more than pins under it. The green and yellow of a wire were exposed at the base of her hips. _Shit_. Athena threw her cigarette to the side, stomping it into oblivion before grasping the end of the adhesive and pulling.

The body was used for listening in on the conversation, hearing her voice. _Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit._ _ **Calm down.**_ _Wires of this type are the type that read the information after you turn it in._ Meaning that it was a rookie who set this up, not Jim himself. Yes, he might have written the note, but he didn't actually kill the woman himself or deliver it.

"I don't respect criminals who don't deliver their own messages." Athena gathered all the saliva in her mouth, projecting it onto the body.

"Mr. Larsson!"

"Yes, Mrs Rae?" He walked quickly and with purpose. "I'm going to need more cigarettes."

"What kind, ma'am?"

"Only the best, Golden Flake." Mr Larsson nodded. "I have two extra packs, just in case. I put one under your pillow when you were doing... your extra activities." Athena's eyes suddenly got wide with both excitement and surprise.

"Thank you, Mr Larsson." Her coiffed hair swung forward as she hugged him. "The pleasure is mine, just be sure to get the blood off of your dresser once you're done,"

 **Jim Moriarty**

"Did she get the warning?" His voice was the same it had always been, surprisingly cheerful regarding the job he did and what circumstances he was in.

"She spit on the body, sir." One of the nameless goons of his said. Moriarty rolled his eyes.

"Of course," Underestimation seemed to be the big flaw for people in the criminal world. He shouldn't have expected less from her.

"There are other ways to be persuasive," James turned in his chair to evaluate Sebastian's face. He was serious.

"What do you suppose I do?"

"Negotiate with this woman, after all she is a businesswoman, that's what they do."

" _Boring,"_

"Just a suggestion, sir."

 **A/N-Hello, thank you for reading. I really appreciate it, review and favourite or share if you like it! If you have any suggestions feel free to tell them. And page break is not working for me... again. Sorry.**


	3. Chapter 3

**_The idea that you owe a man something for treating you like a basic human being or doing a favor for you that is essentially harmful and idiotic is an incredibly stupid notion that is not only completely untrue, but also a waste of time. But if you play it correctly, this trope can benefit you. Remember this fun fact: a Vegas strip-tease lasts no less than seven minutes total. The beginner's mistake is to get naked too early, thinking this is what the crowd is there for. It really isn't. Sex is biology, sex appeal is marketing. It's not the actual naked body that's exciting... it's the promise of seeing one. Now you get on to the one thing every businesswoman should perfect. Communication. Many of you think that this is a thing called mind games, so Athena would like to raise you a question. How many times are you gonna see this person again? If the answer is anywhere from one to eight, go ahead with this. Even if more, if you have a skewed moral compass or just don't care in general, go ahead._**

"Clarke, I need you to do something for me." The thing is most likely going to get him killed.

"Yeah," His voice was gravelly, and not in the sexy or appealing way. (B _ut through experienced acting, you can make it seems like it is_.) Athena ran her hand down the assassin's chest.

"I need you to be my sniper... you know... just in case something happens when Jim comes today?"

One thing Athena prided herself on, was the ability to market her many skills. One of those many skills being playing piano, and singing. Music was a worthwhile hobby that could be used as a distraction and distractions were powerful things.

The Thieving Magpie by Rossini seemed to be the theme of the day. James Moriarty was predictable, in some aspects. And him sending that body was just like someone an attending letter to the large party.

Mr Larsson was told to make sure that he made it to the musical room. The room was a tactical advantage, the only seat positioned next to the window is put in such a way that the head was exposed for a sniper to shoot a person clean in the head. _Creak_.

She stopped, and so did the creaking of the stairs. _Here kitty, kitty_. Once again, she started playing music. The game must begin.

"Lovely music."


	4. Chapter 4

Lovely music," he sat down in the chair across from her. Athena lifted her legs over the bench, giving the man a polite smile.

"You must be Mr. Moriarty," The Consulting Criminal seemed slightly annoyed at the "Mr." This was Athena's intention.

"It has come to my attention that you want something that is no longer yours, and to be honest... _I get it_. But the answer is no, I am not going to give you your crime ring back. When I walked through the ashes of its remains I saw something that had a great potential. Something that could be quite beautiful. So I rebuilt it, and it became important that I kept the tapestry together, I have. Only three of my agents have tried anything, everyone else helps support it. I don't know what I would do if it were to be ripped apart by a mad man with a crush on a Consulting Detective."

Moriarty chuckled at her remark, straightening his face out a little when he saw the butterfly knife she was twirling around.

"Funny that you think I was asking,"

" _Funny_ that you think I care." The Balisong began to move faster between her hands. "If we can't agree on who gets it, we might as well compromise like grown adults."

"Sounds rather _boring_ ,"

"Yes it does Mr. Moriarty, but personally... War seems like a rather childish option. And judging by the fact you haven't made any threats yet, I'm assuming you admire my work and have no intention of killing me. A compromise would be best,"

He rolled his eyes. "Ms. Rae, I do not do compromises. Quite frankly, I always end up killing the other man."

 _ **Now is not a time to be crass or sarcastic. You must study your opponent, make your intentions clear. First show signs of physical and or mental superiority. Although insane, the person in front of me still has basic fight or flight tactics. Time to bring in the sniper. After using this, you make your conditions, let him off the hook and nobody gets hurt.**_

"Perhaps... my intentions were made clear, _a compromise is all I'm willing to make._ " The red dot appeared on Jim's temple. "Want to make a bet that you don't look as pretty in red as you did on that rooftop?" Athena raised an eyebrow, awaiting a response from The Consulting Criminal.

" _Ambitious_." He chuckled. "What are your conditions?"


	5. Chapter 5

**_Ah, hello. I am sorry I have not come out with new chapters sooner. You see, migraines, writer's block, and a lack of confidence in my writing has stopped me from doing so sooner. -Vixen_**


	6. Chapter 6

"You know, I started this... as something specifically mine. Special in my own sort of way, and then I hear that some woman no one has ever comes and takes over my empire in the span of a week and... _well,_ I might ahve broken out of my grave to see if the rumours were true. I guess they are," Athena sat across from James Moriarty, bored as all hell. She flicked her lighter burning the side of the railing to the mansion that had once been Moriarty's. Her whole manor read, _apathetic._ She met Moriarty with the same cold dead eyes that she had. No signs of human life showed from either side of the mini staring match.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers, asshole." Athena smirked. Stuffing her current lighter back into her bra. Her red lips made a popping noise as she emphasized her mocking him. "Besides, you are supposed to be dead. Taking back your kingdom now.. It wouldn't be fitting. Especially with the Holmes boys getting as active as they are right now. Trying to take ' _your_ ' kindgom down. No. Make them weak. Send in a good assasin like Anatazjia Arkov and mkse her seduce the Watson. She kills the Watson in front of the younger Holmes and he's broke. We have the perfect opportunity to sweep in and kill him. John Watson is the key." Her voice was monotonous, as if she took no joy but didn't feel bad about what she was saying. "And by then, you can have your Sebastian Moran shoot me in the back of te head. Quick and painless. _Then you will get your kingdom back. After Watson and the Holmes brothers are dead."_


End file.
